


Café Blues

by nagisa-sensei (komaedakibou)



Series: Hannor Week 2018 [4]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cafe AU, Cole and Hank's ex-wife are mentioned, M/M, cole is alive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 19:13:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16980207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/komaedakibou/pseuds/nagisa-sensei
Summary: Hank's ex-wife has taken Cole out of the state for Christmas, leaving Hank alone with nothing but his thoughts. In an attempt to find a friend to talk to, he visits a café he's a regular at for some peace of mind.





	Café Blues

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [ Hannor Week ](http://hannorweek.tumblr.com) on Tumblr. Day 4 - Hot Chocolate + Café AU

For the first time in his life Hank did not want to go to work, so he didn’t.

First of all, he’d woken up much later than he normally did. He was typically a very prompt man, making sure to get prepared hours in advance. It came as no surprise to him that he slept in, though, what with how upset he’d been feeling the night before.

As he walked around his uncharacteristically empty house, he felt so completely alone that he couldn’t bring himself to do a single thing.

Sumo trailed after him with concern, most likely used to Hank being more upbeat and attentive. Instead, he was dragging his feet and debating going back to bed to sleep the day away, and it was mighty tempting to simply give in.

Grabbing his phone, he forced himself to call work to let them know he wouldn’t be going in that day. Sensing his sadness and being aware of the argument he’d had the day prior, they offered him a month of paid leave. He accepted without hesitation.

It wasn’t an ideal time to be accepting time off, but he needed it. What he was saving his vacation days for was a month to spend with his son, but… he was just so angry that he knew he wouldn’t be able to focus on any work regardless of what he did.

His ex-wife pissed him off so much more than he’d like to admit. She nagged him, spend all her time finding false flaws in him and painted him out to be a bad person ever since he left her. She tried to take Cole off him every opportunity she got so he should’ve expected that she’d succeed eventually.

After pushing some half-assed bullshit at him, she’d decided Cole needed to go somewhere different. Hank worked too much, she said, so it would be good for him to go visit her family outside of Michigan to ‘give him the attention that he deserves’. When he tried to convince her to let him join them, she used Sumo as an excuse for him to stay.

It felt like he was being seen as a complete joke.

Hank was none of the things that she said he was. He always made sure to be there for Cole, to be a good role model to him.

Even though he worked often, he was in no way a distant father. He went to all of Cole’s school events when she didn’t. He spent the entire weekend with Cole, making sure he got to do all the things they couldn’t go out and do on workdays. He made sure to _always_ be readily available to him, and his boss even encouraged him to call his son when he had a moment at work to check in on him.

So, he had absolutely no idea what she had against him or why she hated him so much. It was probably her being immature because of the way he ended their relationship, but he didn’t want to pretend to be happy with her any longer.

It wasn’t healthy for them, or their son. The moment he was absolutely positive that he didn’t love her, he let her know immediately and she clearly resented him for it.

Hank wasn’t rude or mean to her. In fact, he’d sat down and rehearsed what he was going to say. He made sure that he was respectful and wouldn’t hurt her feelings any more than necessary, because there really was no way to bring up divorce without some hard feelings.

Frowning and groaning a bit to himself, he tried to dispel thoughts of her from his mind. Sprawling himself out across a table, he pressed his cheek flat against it and sighed in content from the coolness it provided. As alone as he felt in that moment, he didn’t quite trust himself to stay at home all day.

Today, he decided to spend time in one of his favourite places. It was a home away from home, a constant in his life that put him at ease. The decently sized café was one Cole had found during one of their outings, and the two of them had fallen in love with the place almost immediately. It was sweet, homely and had a friendly atmosphere, which was something you didn’t seem to find very often in Detroit.

It was a bit out of the way, in one of the many side alleys that people who didn’t know the area wouldn’t go down. That didn’t bother him at all, especially since it meant that he was less likely to be bothered by someone he didn’t want to see. But it was in no way small, so he was surprised that not many people seemed to know about it.

The baked goods, hot and cold drinks, and other food items were all high quality. Hell, the interior itself was amazing as well, and so were the people that worked there. It felt more than a little strange that it was usually only himself and maybe one other person there when he visited.

Honestly, he was a little worried that they might go out of business. It didn’t seem that likely considering how long they’d managed to thrive regardless, but he always bought as much as he could as well as some snacks for Cole just in case.

Granted, he probably didn’t see many people because he only went there on the way to work. For four years he’d been going there to get a coffee each morning, and nothing seemed to change. As a regular, he was known by all the workers except for one who he felt was avoiding him, but he thought someone might mention if they had it rough.

The people there felt more like friends to him than most others. It disappointed him a bit that one of them didn’t like him, but it didn’t bother him that much. It was only a matter of time before it happened.

Unfortunately for him, that guy was the only one that seemed to be working today. As much as he tried to strike up a conversation, it was clearly unwanted and he was too sad to try.

When he ordered his coffee, the man didn’t even look at him. In fact, he went out of his way to talk as little as possible and look anywhere else but at Hank. It was beyond frustrating. All he wanted was a friend to talk to, but he was stuck with the one person who seemed to hate him for whatever reason. With his shit luck, he probably should’ve expected it.

It truly felt like he was all alone.

Hank was positive that his heartless ex wouldn’t allow Cole to call him while they were gone, and he found himself missing him as though they’d been separated for years. He had no idea how he was going to survive the next few weeks. He hadn’t even been told what date they’d return or anything.

Hearing a strange noise close by, he forced himself to raise his head. He just hoped that nobody had decided to bother him while he was in such a bad state of mind.

The sight that welcomed him surprised him. A steaming cup of what appeared to be hot chocolate was in front of him, the man who he assumed hated him now sitting across from him but still not looking in his direction.

“U-uh,” he muttered, clearing his throat nervously. “Hello, I don’t believe I’ve ever introduced myself. My name is Connor. You look pretty sad here all by yourself, so I wanted to give you a drink on the house and see if you’re okay.”

The first thing that Hank thought was that the guy wanted something from him. After so long of avoiding him, what really made him feel the need to talk? Surely it wasn’t actually because he was worried.

The second thing that Hank thought was that it was nice of him. From what he saw of Connor, he just seemed like he was shy, though he had no problem talking to most other people.

Either way, Hank would feel bad if he ignored him out if spite. Connor was reaching out, he assumed, and he needed the support.

Sighing and getting up properly, he rested his chin on his palm. He’d see what the man was like after talking to him for a bit. After all, Hank was notorious for oversharing and having little to no filter when he was feeling as down as he was. Without Cole around, he couldn’t bring himself to care about what kind of impression he gave people.

“I thought you hated me,” he said straightforwardly, curious about what kind of response he’d receive. “But thanks, I guess. You’re not gonna stop me from paying for it on my way out anyway, so don’t worry about me.”

Hank didn’t mean to throw in the last part, but it was too late. The way he’d said it sounded like he wanted nothing to do with the other, so he wouldn’t be surprised if he just got up and left. Perhaps it was for the best. Connor seemed okay, but he looked so awkward that he’d probably end up pissing him off.

Instead of accepting that Hank might not want company, Connor let out what could only be described as a whine. He leaned across the table and placed his hand on top of the hand Hank wasn’t using, making eye contact with him for the first time.

It made his breath catch in his throat, even if he would never admit that. While looking at him, he found himself thinking that he had very nice eyes. They were dark brown and conveyed so much emotion that he could no longer tell himself that he didn’t give a damn about him.

“No!” Connor exclaimed, shaking his head. “I don’t hate you and you’re _not_ paying, and that’s final. I can tell you’re not feeling okay, so I want you to just relax and enjoy it.”

Raising an eyebrow, Hank wasn’t exactly sure of what to do. If the guy insisted, then he wasn’t going to fight him over it. It seemed like Connor might actually cry if he decided to pay for it anyway.

Hank didn’t want to make him cry, so he dropped it. He went there often enough to make up for one free drink anyway and if he really wanted to he could just give the money back in the form of a tip. It felt weird to just have something given to him, though.

“Is that so?” He asked, picking up the drink and accidentally letting out a groan of appreciation as he tried some. It was probably the best hot chocolate he’d ever had in his life. “Well, you sure haven’t given me a reason to think otherwise aside from randomly giving me a drink right now, you know?”

Connor beamed with pride when he saw how much Hank was enjoying his drink. Then he flushed a bit, clearly embarrassed.

But then he gave Hank the most adorable puppy dog eyes he’d ever seen, aside from Cole’s. It made him feel things he most certainly did not want to feel, so he drank more and tried to cover his face with his cup because he was probably starting to go red himself.

“I’m sorry for being so rude to you for no reason, Hank. I was just… well, I didn’t really know what to say to you. I was looking for an opportunity to talk to you properly, but I get a bit anxious when lots of people are around,” he averted his eyes, sighing as his face went even more red. “Everyone’s been teasing me over it, too… so I just kind of kept my distance and hoped to catch you alone one day.”

Honestly, Hank found the guy pretty endearing already, but there was no way he wasn’t going to tease him as well. He could already see why everyone else would do it – Connor was adorable.

Plus, after feeling like he was hated for so long… it felt like he needed to tease him to let off some steam.

“That sounds pretty suspicious, Connor,” he said, looking him in the eyes. “To have waited for me to be alone to suddenly introduce yourself, even giving me a free drink. Don’t tell me that you fancy me.”

What he was initially going to say was something along the lines of ‘ _are you about to kidnap me?_ ’ but evidently that wasn’t what came out. He had no idea why he said that instead.

The reaction he got was more satisfying than he could’ve imagined, though. Connor flushed much, much more, his face and even his neck going bright red. It was a full body blush that for a moment made him think the answer was _yes_.

Connor tried his best to hide his face in his hands, but he’d already been seen. It wasn’t like he was doing a very good job of covering up either, especially when Hank could still clearly see how red his neck was.

“That’s not…” he whined, pouting. “I’m not creepy, I swear. I’m just awkward… Why does everyone think I like you or something? What did I do to deserve this?”

Although he felt a bit bad for teasing him like that, the response was oddly satisfying.

Connor dropped his face to the table just as Hank had done earlier, probably trying to cool his face and lessen the blush. It made him chuckle as he had another sip of hot chocolate, more than a little amused about how flustered he was.

“I’m just joking,” he said, a small smile on his face. “Though I’m curious about why people would think you liked me after all you did was avoid me.”

The other glared at him a bit, but it wasn’t effective at all. With his boyish face and the redness in his cheeks, it was just like looking at a puppy trying to be intimidating. No matter how hard he tried to look mean or angry, it just didn’t work at all.

“Ugh,” he sighed, closing his eyes. “It’s _because_ I avoided you. I told most of the others that I wanted to talk to you but didn’t know how, and they seemed to think it was because I liked you and was scared of being too…” he flushed more, then rubbed at his face with his hands. “I don’t know. It’s like they saw me having anxiety as me having a schoolyard crush or something.”

Hank hummed thoughtfully, wondering if it was even remotely true. Was he always so easy to fluster when he was talking to other people?

Either way, he didn’t actually think Connor liked him. Hank was just a grumpy old man who had trouble keeping relationships or friendships because Cole was much more important to him.

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think _anyone_ fancies me, so don’t worry.” Hank replied, causing Connor to try to glare at him again. “I’m sure you already know this, but I’m Hank. It’s nice to formally meet you.”

He probably shouldn’t be talking down on himself, but he genuinely believed it. It was hard not to with all the thoughts that had been on his mind.

“Hank.” Connor said sternly, raising his head. “Hank, you shouldn’t talk about yourself like that. You look like you’re so stressed that your hair turned white but you are attractive, and you have a son so I’m assuming you have a girlfriend or wife.” Catching up with what he said, Connor looked away and pouted once again. “Just drink your hot chocolate and let all your worries float away. It’s good, right?”

Scoffing, he couldn’t help but laugh. It was cute that Connor was trying to make him feel better about himself, but the mention of Cole and his ex-wife only made his negative feelings come pouring back into the forefront of his mind.

“Kid, I have an angry ex-wife who absolutely hates my guts and seems like she wants to take my boy away from me permanently. God, she took him out of the state for who knows how fucking long and left me here all on my own. It’s hard to forget about those kinds of worries.”

Hank didn’t mean to say all that, but it slipped out. Connor looked apologetic immediately, his eyes softening as he reached to take his hand once again and squeeze it. But man, did he need to talk to _someone_ about her and what she’d done.

“I’m so sorry Hank, I didn’t know…” he muttered, looking ashamed of himself. “I didn’t mean to make any assumptions that would make you upset… And I’m not a kid, I’m 31.” Huffing a bit, he looked annoyed for a moment about Hank calling him that before he composed himself. “Do you want to talk about it?”

It wasn’t quite the response he thought he’d get, but he found himself desperately wanting to talk to Connor about everything. He seemed like a nice person, and he had an aura about him that made Hank feel like he could talk to him about anything without being judged.

He was a little surprised to learn that the man was 31, though. It was hard to tell his age just from looking at him, so he’d assumed he was much younger.

Apologising for calling him a kid, he decided to talk to him after all. If he regretted it later, so be it.

“I don’t know where to start, really,” he sighed, only now realising just how much he had to say about all the shit she’d done. “I suppose the main thing is the bitch claims that I’m a horrible parent when she’s the one who’s been distant. Ever since Cole was born, I’ve been the only one there for him without fail, through everything. I’d do anything for him. Then she has the audacity to treat me like I’m a prick just because I brought divorce to the table.”

Connor looked at him in surprise for a moment, like he expected Hank to keep to himself. Then he nodded solemnly, a small smile on his face. Hank wasn’t really sure about what could’ve made him smile, but he didn’t question it.

“She seems very unreasonable,” he said, clearly unsure of how he should reply. “From what I’ve seen and heard, I can’t imagine you ever doing anything to warrant someone calling you a bad parent.”

Hank couldn’t help but smile a bit. It made him wish Cole was there even more, because he could already see him loving Connor.

“Thank you…” he sighed, biting his lip. “I can’t really blame it all on the divorce since she was already a bit of an asshole before I told her how I felt, but it really seemed to tip her over the edge. She’s been telling her family lies about me to try and get them to let her and Cole live with them. They think I’m a bad influence.”

Connor frowned, looking disturbed by that revelation.

“Did she want to stay married?” He asked, glaring at the table. “I can’t believe that she would try to take him away from you… with how bad of an influence she’s been, I can only hope that her family isn’t blind to the truth just because she’s their daughter.”

Hank shook his head no. He was fairly certain that their marriage had been loveless far before he realised it and ended things.

“I think she just wanted to fight me because she didn’t like _why_ I wanted to get divorced. And I’m pretty sure she was only pretending to love me at that point because she wanted Cole to have a ‘normal family’, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Those are her words, not mine.”

Connor was clearly curious, opening his mouth to say something but then promptly closing it again. Instead, he sat there for a few moments and sighed.

“That’s not a very healthy mindset to live in, especially with a child. I’m sure that staying together in a loveless relationship would’ve been very counterproductive and harmful for both of you and your son.”

“That’s what I told her, but she didn’t agree. She didn’t want me getting into another relationship and ruining the ‘dynamic’ so she tried to force me to stay with her.”

“I…” Connor’s voice was low and cautious. “Can I ask why you wanted a divorce? It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me, of course, but I’ve… wanted to talk to you for so long now that I-“

“It’s because I prefer men,” he replied simply. “She didn’t want Cole to have two dads.”

It wasn’t really a big deal to him that he realised he was gay, but he hadn’t really told anyone straightforwardly like that. The only other person aside from his ex-wife who knew was a lesbian friend he used to have but lost connection with after she forbid him from seeing her.

With how cruel she was to a lesbian friend, he should’ve known she’d react poorly to his own sexuality.

“Oh.” Connor replied, blinking in confusion. “I do too. I don’t know what her problem is, but it must’ve been difficult to tell her, especially since you were still together.”

Hank wasn’t exactly surprised to hear that Connor also preferred men. It wasn’t a big deal, but the way he’d just casually added that in was the thing that surprised him. With how hard it had been for the other to merely approach him, he didn’t think he’d be able to talk about personal things so easily.

Apparently, he was able to, though. It made him wonder if the feeling of understanding between them was mutual, making it easier for them to click with each other.

“Uh, yeah. It made her pretty angry and she even convinced herself that I was cheating on her with a man. As if I’d do something like that… it’s clear that she doesn’t have a very good opinion of gay men.”

Connor looked at him in bemusement.

“Why would she think that? Because you realised you were gay? You don’t need to actually be with a man to realise you’re gay. How annoying.” Connor seemed like he’d experienced something similar with how he reacted, making Hank more curious about him. “Well, it’s good that you ended things with her. I can only imagine how much worse she would’ve gotten over time.”

Hank was admittedly at a loss for words. Connor seemed very passionate all of a sudden, his anger at her for her behaviour actually allowing him to look intimidating for a brief moment.

“Uh…”

“I’m sorry, Hank,” Connor said after it became clear that Hank didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry that she’s blinded by her discriminatory ways. You deserve much better than that. Every time I see you and Cole together, I can tell that you both think the world of each other. It’s sad that she chooses to be blind to that just because you prefer men.”

For some reason, Hank found himself blushing in embarrassment now. The things that Connor was saying was overwhelming, nothing at all like he was expecting.

It was strange to have someone accept him so easily and get mad on his behalf. To see how passionately he felt about Hank being treated well even though they hardly knew each other. To see that a complete stranger could care about him so strongly in such a short period of time.

“…Is that so?” He asked, his voice wavering a bit. The onslaught of emotions now gripping him was quickly turning him into a mess. With how often he’d heard he was awful from _her_ , sometimes it was hard to think of himself as a good person. “I, uh… I wish she’d stop being such a bitch, but what can you do?”

Connor nodded in agreement, still looking fairly angry and annoyed. When he looked up at Hank, though, his eyes softened.

And it made Hank’s heart race.

“Why couldn’t you go with them?” Connor asked, shifting in his seat. “I imagine it’d be pretty uncomfortable to around each other so much, but with everything you’ve said… you’re worried that she might not bring him back, right?”

Hank frowned, groaning in annoyance. The stupid excuses that she had came back to his mind, making him need to drink some more hot chocolate to calm down. It didn’t help that Connor himself was making him feel things on top of everything.

“My dog, Sumo. He’s a big Saint Bernard so it’s pretty costly to get someone to take care of him so she mainly used that as an excuse. That, and she claimed that Cole needed time around _different_ family, meaning _not me._ ”

Connor perked up in excitement when he mentioned his dog before coughing nervously and regaining his composure. Then, with the rest of what Hank said, he looked angry once again.

“Sorry, I like dogs. I wish I could have one…” he apologised, but Hank had no idea why he felt bad. “That’s not fair on you, Hank.”

“It’s okay, I’m used to it,” Hank shrugged, finishing the rest of his hot chocolate. “Maybe you can come visit Sumo sometime. I’m sure he’d love you too.”

Connor lit up in excitement again, eyes wide.

“Really? You’d let me visit even though we just started talking today?”

Honestly, it felt like he’d known Connor for a long time already. Their interaction seemed more like that of one between two old friends who hadn’t seen each other in a while rather than mere acquaintances.

Hank was pretty sure he’d never clicked with someone so quickly before. It kind of scared him, how natural it felt to be with Connor and talk to him. The last thing he wanted was to get attached to someone only to have them abandon him like everyone else seemed to.

It really was hard for him to befriend people. They demanded too much of his attention and expected him to go out of his way for them, something he wouldn’t do unless they got along with Cole as well. There was no point in having people around who didn’t like his son, or refused to get along with him.

Connor seemed like someone he’d be able to go out of his way for, though. There was just… something that told him it was worth it.

“Yeah. You should come over sometime and make me another hot chocolate, huh? The one you gave me was amazing, I might actually become addicted to it.”

Giggling, Connor beamed with pride and Hank couldn’t stop himself from smiling back. He looked so happy that it was contagious.

“Okay, I’ll make sure to!” Connor looked so excited that he was practically bouncing in his seat. “I’m so glad that my hot chocolate was good! I was afraid you might not like it, but I thought it would be better to offer you one of those instead of another coffee.”

“Mm, I look forward to it,” Hank said far too fondly, trying to calm down his racing heart. “I prefer coffee, but that’s only because I never knew hot chocolate could be so good.”

Grinning from ear to ear, the other covered his face a bit once again as he realised how happy he was.

Then they fell into a silence. Hank was unsure of what he should say next, his thoughts and heart racing too much for him to focus. He didn’t want to say something he’d regret, or something that would make Connor stop smiling.

To be honest, just seeing it made him feel like all his worries had been washed away. It was like an angel was smiling and he was blessed to be able to see it.

“I wish I had the courage to talk to you sooner, Hank,” he said, suddenly very serious. “You seem like an amazing person. Would it be okay if I asked for your number? You can talk to me whenever you need to, just… I kind of prefer texting over talking, but I don’t mind calls if it’s you. You have a nice voice. I mean-“

“Of course,” Hank replied, taking his phone out so they could exchange numbers. “Thank you, Connor. You can call or text me whenever you like, too. I took the month off work so I’ll probably be dying of boredom until Cole comes back.”

It looked like Connor wanted to say something, but the appearance of another customer made him need to excuse himself and run behind the counter to serve them.

Even though he was by himself at that table, Hank suddenly didn’t feel alone anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of want to continue this one, I have a few ideas to keep it going. If you enjoy it enough to read more, please let me know and leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed. It's much appreciated.


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